In the chart, we see the prevalence of alcohol dependence versus the average per capita alcohol consumption. There is no clear evidence that high overall consumption (particularly in moderate quantities) is connected to the onset of alcohol dependency. A century ago, some countries had much higher levels of alcohol consumption.
In addition to ABVs, many factors may result in inaccuracies of per capita alcohol consumption estimates. These factors are discussed in detail in the AEDS data reference manual on per capita alcohol consumption (Nephew et al. 2004). how much did steve harwell drink Note that the word apparent in this report’s title is pertinent, because the estimates in this report are based on the reported volumes of alcoholic beverages released to the market for sale and not on actual measures of people’s alcohol consumption.
Distilled Spirits
This data is based on estimates of prevalence and treatment published by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the chart, we see the relationship between average per capita alcohol consumption – in liters of pure alcohol per year – versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across countries. Global trends on alcohol abstinence show a mirror image of drinking prevalence data.
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Adults ages 35 to 54, those with a college degree, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, and those who attend church less than once a week are all more likely than other Americans to drink alcohol. Decanter’s January 2022 “Top wine Trends for 2022” listed the average consumer’s “inability…to afford” wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne. Instead, there has been a shift to lesser-known regions, including Santa Barbara, California, the Canary Islands and Gredos in Spain, Corsica, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Overall, the theme is that consumers will start looking for new wines, new wine regions, and swapping Champagne with Cava and other sparkling wines. The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of “Alcoholic beverages industry in the United States” and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.
Whiskey
- In the chart, we see the average consumption (in liters of ethanol) of different beverage types per person in the USA since the mid-nineteenth century.
- The prevalence of alcohol dependence in men is typically higher than in women across all countries.
- When asked if “they would be highly likely to switch to a more sustainable brand” if their favorite alcohol brand “was not using sustainable practices,” 34% of Gen X, 50% of Millennials, and 32% of Gen Z responded that they would do so.
- N.C. Solutions reported in January 2024 that, on average, consumers were “having three drinks per week, down from four per week in 2023.” Gallup also reported that alcoholic beverage drinkers consumed “on average…four drinks in the past week,” in July 2023.
All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. The total estimated number of deaths by country from 1990 to 2019 is found here. When we look at the variance in prevalence across age groups, we see that globally, the prevalence is highest in those aged between 15 and 49 years old. This shows the expenditure on alcohol in the United States, differentiated by where the alcohol has been purchased and consumed. Data on alcohol expenditure is typically limited to North America, Europe, and Oceania.
Alcohol, crime, and road deaths
Even small habit changes related to alcohol consumption can impact one’s wallet and health. The first map shows this in terms of spirits as a share of total alcohol consumption. In many Asian countries, spirits account for most of total alcohol consumption.
This interactive chart shows the average share of household expenditure that is spent on alcohol. We also find correlates in drinking patterns when we look at groupings of income, education or work status. Although those in lower income or educational status groups often drink less overall, they are more likely to have lower-frequency, higher-intensity drinking patterns. Overall, these groups drink less, but a higher percentage will drink heavily when they do. As we see, following prohibition, levels of alcohol consumption returned to similar levels as in the pre-prohibition period. Data on the prevalence of binge drinking by age and gender in the UK can be found here, and trends in heavy and binge drinking in the USA can be found here.
To account for the differences in alcohol content of different alcoholic drinks (e.g., beer, wine, spirits), this is reported in liters of pure alcohol per year. What some suggest should be the fourth category of alcoholic beverages, sales of ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages increased from “7 percent in 2019 to 11 percent for the first half of 2021,” with several sources indicating that the RTD market will continue to grow. In fact, the market share for hard seltzer decreased slightly between 2020 and 2021 due to “increased competition from crossover categories like RTDs.” In 2021, Gallup, Inc. reported that 60% of U.S. adults drank alcoholic beverages, which decreased from 65% as reported in 2019. The average number of drinks consumed in the previous seven days also decreased. In 2019, consumers aged 18 years and older drank, on average, 4.0 drinks in a seven-day period, but in 2021 that average was 3.6 drinks.